External drive encryption lockout

Hi,
I am running time machine on an encrypted external drive. Usually I have to log into the drive with a password upon connecting it. The problem I experienced is that drive locked me out and would freeze upon entering my password. I tried repairing drive with disk utility to no avail, the problem occured for about 24 hours. I read numerous forum entries about this problem where there seemed to be no definitive answer. A lot of ppl had given up and reformatted there drives.
When I tired diskutil cs list the drive I was getting,
CoreStorage logical volume groups (1 found)
|
+-- Logical Volume Group ***
    =========================================================
    Name:         Big Kitty
    Status:       Online
    Size:         2000052772864 B (2.0 TB)
    Free Space:   0 B (0 B)
    |
    +-< Physical Volume ***
    |   ----------------------------------------------------
    |   Index:    0
    |   Disk:     disk1s2
    |   Status:   Online
    |   Size:     2000052772864 B (2.0 TB)
    |
    +-> Logical Volume Family ***
        Encryption Status:       Locked
        Encryption Type:         AES-XTS
        Conversion Status:       Complete
        Conversion Direction:    -none-
        Has Encrypted Extents:   Yes
        Fully Secure:            Yes
        Passphrase Required:     Yes
        |
        +-> Logical Volume ***
            Disk:                  -none-
            Status:                Locked
            Size (Total):          1999733997568 B (2.0 TB)
            Conversion Progress:   -none-
            Revertible:            No
            LV Name:               Big Kitty
            Content Hint:          Apple_HFS
Magically today my drive started working again so I just wanted to know if anyone has experienced this problem and if so was it related to the HD failing or an OS/X problem.
When I run diskutil cs list after it is working again I get;
CoreStorage logical volume groups (1 found)
|
+-- Logical Volume Group ***
    =========================================================
    Name:         Big Kitty
    Status:       Online
    Size:         2000052772864 B (2.0 TB)
    Free Space:   0 B (0 B)
    |
    +-< Physical Volume ***
    |   ----------------------------------------------------
    |   Index:    0
    |   Disk:     disk1s2
    |   Status:   Online
    |   Size:     2000052772864 B (2.0 TB)
    |
    +-> Logical Volume Family ***
        Encryption Status:       Unlocked
        Encryption Type:         AES-XTS
        Conversion Status:       Complete
        Conversion Direction:    -none-
        Has Encrypted Extents:   Yes
        Fully Secure:            Yes
        Passphrase Required:     Yes
        |
        +-> Logical Volume ***
            Disk:               disk2
            Status:             Online
            Size (Total):       1999733997568 B (2.0 TB)
            Size (Converted):   -none-
            Revertible:         No
            LV Name:            Big Kitty
            Volume Name:        Big Kitty
            Content Hint:       Apple_HFS
The difference you'll notice is the Disk is now disk2, and there is a volume name.
Thanks Matt

Launch the Console application in any of the following ways:
☞ Enter the first few letters of its name into a Spotlight search. Select it in the results (it should be at the top.)
☞ In the Finder, select Go ▹ Utilities from the menu bar, or press the key combination shift-command-U. The application is in the folder that opens.
☞ Open LaunchPad. Click Utilities, then Console in the page that opens.
Make sure the title of the Console window is All Messages. If it isn't, select All Messages from the SYSTEM LOG QUERIES menu on the left.
Click the Clear Display icon in the toolbar. Try the action that you're having trouble with again. Post any messages that appear in the Console window – the text, please, not a screenshot.
Important: Some private information, such as your name, may appear in the log. Edit it out by search-and-replace in a text editor before posting.

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Author: Troubleshooting Mac® OS X
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If you want to password protect a folder ...
Launch /Applications/Applescript/Script Editor
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on opening folder This_Folder
repeat
tell application "Finder"
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If you want better, more reliable security on a external drive, you should get a self encrypting external drive, these have a hardware based encryption, either a physical key and/or keypad to enter a password and do all the encryption/decryption on the drive itself.
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I would like to use an external drive as a backup to store my personal data. As I don't care about Windows compatibility, LUKS seems good for that.
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In regards to plausible deniability, it's possible to go even further if you're willing to roll up your sleeves...
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HT201250 I've just used an external drive to back up my Mac with Time Machine. I have Lion, but didn't click and check the "Encrypt Backup Disc". What should I do? Can I delete the external drive and start again, or can I encrypt later?

I've just used an external drive to back up my Mac with Time Machine. I have Lion, but didn't click and check the "Encrypt Backup Disc". What should I do? Can I delete the external drive and start again, or can I encrypt later?

I guess if stolen or lost it would protect my "stuff", and if I'm travelling would protect my privacy.
You must understand the purpose and implications of encryption before deciding whether to use it.
Encryption locks your data with a password. If you forget that password, the data is lost beyond any chance of recovery. Neither Apple nor anyone else will be able to help you recover that data if you don't know the password.
By the same token, the password must be strong enough to provide the security you want. For example, if you're the potential target of industrial espionage by a government or large corporation, you need the strongest possible password. To create and manage such a password safely is a task in itself, not to be undertaken lightly.
If you're only concerned about casual snooping by someone with no special skill, a weak, easily-remembered password is appropriate.
But regardless of the strength of the password, if you lose it, the data is gone forever.
Another point to remember is that if you encrypt your data on one storage device, you must also encrypt it on all other storage devices that would be accessible to the same attacker. Otherwise the data isn't protected. For example, if you keep your computer and your backup drive in the same room, and the internal drive of the computer is not encrypted, then there's no point in encrypting the backup drive.

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Hi, I tried your advice and it tells me the external drive is ok, and the ERASE section is grey, probably because I encrypted the disk!?!
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Any other ideas?

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Triple-click anywhere in the line below to select it:
diskutil list; echo; diskutil cs list
Copy the selected text to the Clipboard (command-C).
Launch the Terminal application in any of the following ways:
☞ Enter the first few letters of its name into a Spotlight search. Select it in the results (it should be at the top.)
☞ In the Finder, select Go ▹ Utilities from the menu bar, or press the key combination shift-command-U. The application is in the folder that opens.
☞ Open LaunchPad. Click Utilities, then Terminal in the icon grid.
Paste into the Terminal window (command-V).
Post any lines of output that appear below what you entered — the text, please, not a screenshot.
If any personal information appears in the output, anonymize before posting, but don’t remove the context.

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That part is working fine. However, it has now dawned on me that I would like to encrypt those home folders in case that external HDD is stolen. The problem, of course, is that by encrypting that external HDD, those users won't be able to login, since you can't login if your home folder is not immediately available.
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If your pictures, music, movies are not sensitive, you could relocate those to the external drive.

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